information.
Jemma sent a grateful thought toward whomever had designed the keypad to have a traditional keyboard layout since it meant she didn’t have to look as she typed. “What about the fact that there’s a fix available downstairs?”
At this, Heidi did raise her eyebrows. She moved to type a response, but stopped when the door opened and Dr. Harris entered.
“Jemma,” he typed, clipboard in hand, “how are you feeling? Has your eyesight returned?”
“My head hurts, but not as much as yesterday or even last night. My eyes are a little better. Everything’s all blurry instead of black.”
He nodded and moved closer. “I want you to watch my right hand and tell me how many fingers I’m holding up with the left.” He handed his clipboard to Heidi, who blinked. Jemma shifted her attention back to Dr. Harris.
She could tell about where his left hand was, but as far as how many fingers he was holding up? She shook her head. He repeated the process, over and over, moving his hand closer each time until she could finally see that he held out two fingers about six inches from his other hand. She looked away from his frown only to see that Heidi wore an identical expression.
Dr. Harris retrieved his clipboard. “Beyond that point is simply blurred, though, not completely blocked any longer?”
“That’s right,” Jemma confirmed.
“I was hoping for slightly better progress, but the fact that your eyesight has improved instead of worsened supports what the scans show. You should recover. We’ll still give you a few days off to help ensure that as best we can.” He turned toward Heidi. “Thank you for staying with her through the night. I can arrange for a replacement so you can get some rest, if you’d like.”
“No, but thank you. I did get some sleep, actually, and I’ve never really needed a lot. I should be fine. Jemma will be needing breakfast, though, and then I thought I could take her for a walk. Just in the hallways, of course, and nowhere off limits.”
“I’ll have something sent that won’t upset her stomach, and I’ll make sure the walk gets approved. As long as you stay with her, I don’t see a problem.” He turned toward the door, then paused. “Make sure she isn’t left alone with Joshua.”
“Of course,” Heidi agreed. Dr. Harris left, and Heidi continued. “Wait until your breakfast comes before you keep typing. We should have some time without interruptions after that, and I have a feeling we’ll need it.”
Jemma rested her eyes while waiting, leaning her head against her knees. She didn’t move again until she heard her door open. A guard handed Heidi a bowl and spoon, then left. Heidi helped Jemma arrange things without jarring her head or arm. In the bowl was oatmeal, not the instant packet kind, but rich oatmeal she could actually see texture in, at least when she looked directly at it.
“Can you eat with one hand and type with the other?” asked Heidi. Jemma nodded, getting situated to do just that. “So the serum to reverse the Event is in the basement of the lab? I don’t really know what’s down there.”
They were skipping the cryptic wording now, then. “Yes, I believe so. I want to get down there today and activate it, however that works.”
Heidi was shaking her head before Jemma had finished typing. “You’re not in any condition to do that. I can’t go down there, either, but I can insist on staying with you, and maybe we can find a way to get you down there safely once you’re closer to your normal self, once your eyesight is back to normal, at least.”
“We can’t wait that long,” typed Jemma. “Josh wants to destroy the cure so he has longer to run his tests.”
Heidi’s eyes widened. “I can’t believe he would do that. Well, no, that’s not true. I can believe he would do that, the selfish, egotistical pig. What I can’t believe is that he would tell you this before he’d actually done it.”
“He didn’t tell me.
Jemma sent a grateful thought toward whomever had designed the keypad to have a traditional keyboard layout since it meant she didn’t have to look as she typed. “What about the fact that there’s a fix available downstairs?”
At this, Heidi did raise her eyebrows. She moved to type a response, but stopped when the door opened and Dr. Harris entered.
“Jemma,” he typed, clipboard in hand, “how are you feeling? Has your eyesight returned?”
“My head hurts, but not as much as yesterday or even last night. My eyes are a little better. Everything’s all blurry instead of black.”
He nodded and moved closer. “I want you to watch my right hand and tell me how many fingers I’m holding up with the left.” He handed his clipboard to Heidi, who blinked. Jemma shifted her attention back to Dr. Harris.
She could tell about where his left hand was, but as far as how many fingers he was holding up? She shook her head. He repeated the process, over and over, moving his hand closer each time until she could finally see that he held out two fingers about six inches from his other hand. She looked away from his frown only to see that Heidi wore an identical expression.
Dr. Harris retrieved his clipboard. “Beyond that point is simply blurred, though, not completely blocked any longer?”
“That’s right,” Jemma confirmed.
“I was hoping for slightly better progress, but the fact that your eyesight has improved instead of worsened supports what the scans show. You should recover. We’ll still give you a few days off to help ensure that as best we can.” He turned toward Heidi. “Thank you for staying with her through the night. I can arrange for a replacement so you can get some rest, if you’d like.”
“No, but thank you. I did get some sleep, actually, and I’ve never really needed a lot. I should be fine. Jemma will be needing breakfast, though, and then I thought I could take her for a walk. Just in the hallways, of course, and nowhere off limits.”
“I’ll have something sent that won’t upset her stomach, and I’ll make sure the walk gets approved. As long as you stay with her, I don’t see a problem.” He turned toward the door, then paused. “Make sure she isn’t left alone with Joshua.”
“Of course,” Heidi agreed. Dr. Harris left, and Heidi continued. “Wait until your breakfast comes before you keep typing. We should have some time without interruptions after that, and I have a feeling we’ll need it.”
Jemma rested her eyes while waiting, leaning her head against her knees. She didn’t move again until she heard her door open. A guard handed Heidi a bowl and spoon, then left. Heidi helped Jemma arrange things without jarring her head or arm. In the bowl was oatmeal, not the instant packet kind, but rich oatmeal she could actually see texture in, at least when she looked directly at it.
“Can you eat with one hand and type with the other?” asked Heidi. Jemma nodded, getting situated to do just that. “So the serum to reverse the Event is in the basement of the lab? I don’t really know what’s down there.”
They were skipping the cryptic wording now, then. “Yes, I believe so. I want to get down there today and activate it, however that works.”
Heidi was shaking her head before Jemma had finished typing. “You’re not in any condition to do that. I can’t go down there, either, but I can insist on staying with you, and maybe we can find a way to get you down there safely once you’re closer to your normal self, once your eyesight is back to normal, at least.”
“We can’t wait that long,” typed Jemma. “Josh wants to destroy the cure so he has longer to run his tests.”
Heidi’s eyes widened. “I can’t believe he would do that. Well, no, that’s not true. I can believe he would do that, the selfish, egotistical pig. What I can’t believe is that he would tell you this before he’d actually done it.”
“He didn’t tell me.
Similar Books
